DAZN is moving up in the sports streaming service batting order.

Next season, baseball fans will be able to get their fix of Major League Baseball live in-game action and highlights on the fledgling service. DAZN will broadcast a live show each weeknight, under a new, three-year live digital rights deal announced by the league Thursday.

Live look-ins from in-progress games will make up much of the broadcasts. DAZN will also broadcast live weekend shows and offer other on-demand MLB content, the service and league say.

The MLB deal expands the sports coverage of DAZN (pronounced “da zone”) beyond its current boxing, mixed martial arts, soccer and cricket coverage.

DAZN could benefit from creating the equivalent of an NFL RedZone for baseball updates that could be a major draw for young sports fans who have shunned traditional pay-TV packages.

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John Skipper, DAZN Group Executive Chairman. and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, Jr., at right, on Nov. 15 in Atlanta. A new three-year deal will allow the streaming service to broadcast a nightly live highlights show. (Photo: Adam Hagy, MLB Photos via Getty Images)

The agreement also lets former ESPN president John Skipper, chairman of DAZN’s parent company, step up to the plate to face off with his former employer.

“This is a breakthrough for us and a fairly monumental one in that it’s the first big deal we have done with one of the major professional leagues in the United States,” Skipper said. “We will be in active discussions with other professional leagues and other rights holders in the U.S.”

Skipper resigned from ESPN in December. In March, he told the Hollywood Reporter he quit after someone he had bought cocaine from attempted to extort him.

Skipper said the daily live show could start broadcasting before the day’s first games begin and run beyond the last out of the day’s final game. 

The MLB sees the potential for a home run on streaming platforms, such as ESPN+, which launched in April and includes live games on the $4.99-monthly service.

“DAZN’s multisport streaming platform provides Major League Baseball and our Clubs an important opportunity to extend the game’s digital reach,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Our collaborative production will benefit DAZN’s subscribers with new ways to follow the captivating storylines, talented young stars and impactful plays happening around the game every day.”

Terms of the deal were not announced, but the company had reportedly been negotiating a $300 million, three-year deal with the MLB.

Originally launched two years ago in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan, DAZN is now available in Canada, Italy and the U.S. and will expand to Spain in 2019.

DAZN recently signed a $365 million 11-fight deal with middleweight champion boxer Canelo Alvarez and a multi-year distribution deal with MMA promotor Bellator.

Subscribers pay $9.99 monthly after a one-month free trial and can watch on smart TVs, mobile devices, video game consoles and Net-connected devices including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.
 

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